11:59 amThe procedure on Monday went far far better than expected. Walked away in an hour or so with a very numb mouth and a half-numb nostril, which kept flaring in confusion. The guy behind the counter at Store 24 was curious and I couldn't explain it.

"No, I can't control it right now. It's just ... it's confused."

I realized that I was basing all my worries on the last root canal I had over ten years ago. The tooth in question then was a molar with an angry streak, and the surgeon had to take away most of it in order to get it just right for the eventual crown/bridge. I had a post sticking out of my tooth for a while then, which was helped only partially by the temporary bridge they gave me. (It was a nasty thing, a rubbery sort of temp bridge that I couldn't wait to replace.) I was expecting something along those lines again, only hopefully without a horrid rubbery temp bridge.

But lo, I was in a new office in a new goddamn century and here I was staring at my digital x-rays, watching the doc play with 'em and zoom in and show me all sorts of groovy things about my broken teeth. The oral surgeon was quick, he didn't do anything I wasn't expecting, and was nice to boot. He did stick a needle in the roof of my mouth before it was numb enough to not care, but that was the most uncomfortable I was the entire time unless you count the nostril-flaring afterwards.

As it turns out the surgeon was able to keep the front-facing half of the tooth intact. He excavated from behind and managed to patch it up with a temporary filling. I can't chew on the tooth as it sends sting shivers up my nerves, but I wasn't doing much chewing on it anyway. Carolyn thoughtfully brought me soup on Monday night and I had pasta last night. I inadvertently overcooked the pasta, which was just as well considering I don't want anything crunchy for a while.

Today the tooth is a little sore but not as bad as yesterday. This is nice because today I have a whole nother litany of health complaints. Goddamn throat.

The next dentist appointment is in two weeks, and I hope I have the money for it then.